{"id":228975,"date":"2025-04-28T15:46:40","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T19:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=228975"},"modified":"2025-04-28T16:33:55","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T20:33:55","slug":"uconn-waterbury-joins-community-to-dedicate-the-neil-oleary-building","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2025\/04\/uconn-waterbury-joins-community-to-dedicate-the-neil-oleary-building\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn Waterbury Joins Community to Dedicate The Neil O\u2019Leary Building"},"content":{"rendered":"

A downtown Waterbury landmark has entered the next phase of its history as the new home<\/a> of several UConn academic and research programs, complementing and expanding the wide range of offerings at the adjacent UConn Waterbury campus.<\/p>\n

It also has a new name: The Neil O\u2019Leary Building, honoring the former longtime Waterbury mayor who shepherded the 130-year-old Odd Fellows Hall from ruin to renaissance in partnership with UConn, local and state officials, and the building\u2019s owners.<\/p>\n

About 200 people, including scores of lifelong Waterbury residents, gathered last Thursday night at the building for the renaming and a ribbon-cutting event.<\/p>\n

It included an open house and dedication ceremony with welcoming remarks from local and regional leaders including Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski Jr., and several others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is such an exciting time for UConn and our beautiful state, and this building is a testament to what\u2019s possible,\u201d Bysiewicz said of the six-story building, which had been unused and deteriorating for about 15 years before the restoration.<\/p>\n

\"A
Lt Gov. Susan Bysiewicz speaks at the dedication of the newly renovated historic building (Steve Bustamante \/ University of Connecticut)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Green Hub Development III LLC purchased and renovated the landmark building through a public-private partnership, in which O\u2019Leary was one of the most enthusiastic proponents. UConn is leasing about 26,300 square feet to expand the University\u2019s offerings in nursing, allied health, and other programs.<\/p>\n

Thursday night\u2019s event celebrated not only UConn Waterbury\u2019s growing downtown presence, but also O\u2019Leary\u2019s vision as the driving force in the rescue, restoration, and reuse of the once-crumbling historic structure.<\/p>\n

\u201cMayor O\u2019Leary recognized the potential of this structure when many considered it beyond saving,\u201d said Fumiko Hoeft, UConn Waterbury\u2019s dean and chief administrative officer.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis vision – combined with the University\u2019s leadership and strong partners – brought it back to life. Today, it stands ready to serve the community and generations of UConn students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just a few years ago, O\u2019Leary knew it might be a hard sell to convince others of the potential he\u2019d long seen in the structure.<\/p>\n

He laughed Thursday as he recalled shepherding UConn leaders through its dank, crumbling hallways \u2013 all wearing hard hats and face masks, led by flashlights, and carrying umbrellas to shield them from the rain that came in through the roof\u2019s many holes.<\/p>\n

Today, the building is pristine, bright, and welcoming.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s home to UConn\u2019s clinic-style nursing and health care simulation rooms, research facilities, study lounges, office and administrative space, a spacious former banquet room, and other areas suitable for maker space, incubator studios, classes, and large gatherings.<\/p>\n

The building also houses Access Rehab Centers<\/a>, which held an open house during Thursday night\u2019s event; and is home to the Waterbury Robotics Institute, a collaboration between UConn and Waterbury Public Schools.<\/p>\n

Although speaker after speaker at Thursday night\u2019s event lauded O\u2019Leary, he said credit also goes to a wide range of partners that include Hoeft, UConn President Radenka Maric, UConn trustees Tom Ritter and Marilda Gandara, Waterbury\u2019s current administration and legislative delegation, and many others.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, what\u2019s important is what we can do for the city\u2019s and the state\u2019s greatest assets \u2013 and that\u2019s our students,\u201d O\u2019Leary said. \u201cWe must do everything in our power to support our rising students, and our partnership between our city and UConn is so strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

The six-story building, originally built for the local chapter of the International Order of Odd Fellows social group, is in a prime downtown location and dates to 1895<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A
UConn Waterbury Campus Dean Fumiko Hoeft (Steve Bustamante \/ University of Connecticut)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Its renovation was funded through a state grant to the City of Waterbury along with Green Hub\u2019s private funding. It was modernized for today\u2019s needs while retaining key elements of its history, including Venetian Gothic exterior features overlooking the Waterbury Green and the ornate ceiling in its former banquet hall.<\/p>\n

UConn\u2019s plan to expand its nursing education programs into the building is particularly noteworthy given the high demand in that profession, both statewide and specifically in Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley region.<\/p>\n

Maric, a frequent and enthusiastic visitor to UConn Waterbury, said Thursday night that the connections between the University and community go beyond the renovation of the Neil O\u2019Leary Building.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is about vision, community, and unity \u2026 There\u2019s something very special about this place, as a working-class community whose residents care deeply for each other,\u201d Maric said.<\/p>\n

The growth of UConn Waterbury<\/a>\u2019s campus and academic offerings also complements the UConn Strategic Plan<\/a>, which includes ensuring that the campuses in Waterbury, Hartford, Stamford, and Avery Point offer signature programs that are destinations within UConn.<\/p>\n

UConn\u2019s Board of Trustees approved the expansion plans<\/a> in 2023, which are part of a larger commitment to strengthen the University\u2019s presence and partnerships in the Naugatuck Valley.<\/p>\n

They include UConn\u2019s deep involvement in the Waterbury Promise<\/a> scholarship program, under which many dozens of Waterbury graduates are attending the University; and the establishment and growth of the allied health sciences major<\/a> on the campus.<\/p>\n

UConn Waterbury also prides itself on providing a tight-knit community that serves students\u2019 individual needs while ensuring they can access world-class UConn programs in undergraduate<\/a> and graduate-level<\/a> fields that lead to strong, satisfying career paths.<\/p>\n

UConn Waterbury\u2019s new space in the Neil O\u2019Leary Building will be ideal for serving current students while also advancing community partnerships with schools, the City of Waterbury, the regional business community, and other groups.<\/p>\n

The 26,000 square feet of academic, research, and community space that UConn is leasing also provides resources for humanities and social sciences.<\/p>\n

That includes the HACER Lab<\/a>, a hub for humanistic inquiry, research, and pedagogy developed in collaboration with Waterbury students and community partners; the Ideas + Impact<\/a> initiative; and other learning communities focused on social impact, sustainability, and health-related projects.<\/p>\n

These facilities will be used by programs in nursing, allied health, psychological sciences, urban and community studies, humanities and social sciences, business, and community partnerships.<\/p>\n

\"A
Former Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary. (Steve Bustamante \/ University of Connecticut)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Additionally, it will serve as the home for the Haskins Global Literacy Hub, a newly formed partnership between Yale, UConn Global Affairs, and UConn Waterbury focused on promoting education and conducting innovative research to enhance literacy globally.<\/p>\n

The Odd Fellows Building has a rich history in the City of Waterbury, and its restoration and use by UConn carries strong emotional and economic significance to the area.<\/p>\n

Built at a cost of $100,000 and said to be among the finest of its time in the region, the building\u2019s opening in 1895 drew more than 5,000 members of the group from around the East Coast and was featured in the New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In fact, the opening was marked by a parade and the event was so important to the city that all factories and schools were closed for the day, and all business shut down at noon, according to another Times article<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A clothing store occupied the first floor for about its first five years in addition to the meeting rooms and social spaces used by the Odd Fellows and others on the higher floors. Later, the popular Grieve, Bissett & Holland department store was in the building from 1902 until the mid-1960s.<\/p>\n

Pernerewski, who joked that his role as Waterbury\u2019s current mayor includes many ribbon-cuttings at projects that O\u2019Leary initiated during his tenure, said Thursday that the building\u2019s revival is symbolic: Just as O\u2019Leary envisioned a promising future for a crumbling building, that building now provides a promising future for those who will use it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere others saw obstacles, Neil always saw potential. That\u2019s exactly what he saw in this building: a structure that had seen better days, but which could be brought back to life and serve this community in a powerful way,\u201d Pernerewski said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis building and all it\u2019s going to bring to UConn Waterbury and to our city is a reflection of Neil\u2019s vision for Waterbury: bold, hopeful, and committed to progress.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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